Of tall promises and broken
pacts
| Living in an apartment complex in a city like Kochi is fine, but there
could be problems when it comes to collectively ensuring that it is
properly maintained and its facilities are shared equitably. In some
cases the promised facilities are simply not available, writes SHYAMA
RAJAGOPAL. |
Living in a multi-storied apartment complex in a busy city
like Kochi can have its advantages. That is why more and more people are opting
to live in flats. But, the situation that it gives rise to - of having to share
the common space and the facilities available and take collective responsibility
for its upkeep can give rise to problems.
Take maintenance for, instance. "This is very
important," says K. Govindan, working with a tea company. "Last year I
had to go without the lifts working for two months all the while going up five
floors with children many times a day. We suffered because there was no one to
take up any responsibility. There were frequent problems of water and
electricity and I had to personally go and collect money from the people living
here and deposit it with the Electricity office and Water Authority to get back
the connection."
Common
grouse
There is no association in this apartment complex bang in the
centre of Kochi. Mr. Govindan says that the people are hardly bothered if there
are no lights in the common area or there is no maintenance. Most of the
occupants are tenants and the attitude of not taking up any responsibility has
made things worse, he says. "The tenants are supposed to pay for the
maintenance of the flats but when there is no association of flat owners, what
do the tenants do," The owners are least bothered too.
An initiative has been launched recently for forming an
association in this apartment complex and hopefully a system will be in place
soon, says Mr. Govindan.
And there can be many who suffer because of a builder's lack
of interest in ensuring a set-up for taking care of the project once it is
completed.
"These kinds of troubles had come to my notice when I
was the president of the Ernakulam District Residents Association's Apex Council
and this happens generally when the builder fails to get together an independent
association of the owners started," says S. Balakrishnan.
If an apartment is serviced by a single electricity and water
connection and if some people living there fail to pay up, these basic
facilities are cut-off for all, he said. One of the main drawbacks of some of
the flats is the grossly inadequate drainage and sewerage system. Within six
months of habitation, the tanks start overflowing and all the untreated water
flows in the open, said Mr. Balakrishnan.
Lack of
rules
The building rules are inadequate too when it comes to
high-rise buildings, he says. While it mentions that a frontage of at least five
metres should be provided at the entry point, there is no mention about the
width of the approach road to the gate of the flat. The builders, therefore, may
fail to provide details about the approach road anywhere in their brochure, and
the road may be just three meters wide.
When builders boast about the luxury facilities available in
a flat, they should also be able to mention the kind of drainage system they are
providing, Mr. Balakrishnan says. The sanctioning authorities have only of late
started reacting to the lack of compliance by a section of the builders in
providing fire safety measures. As is the case of on apartment building in
Kadavanthara. The builder is said to have violated many norms in the building
rules in the flat constructed in a prime place. The association of the flat
owners here have approached the courts to seek redressal of their grievances one
of which is the lack of fire safety measures.
False
promises
According to one of the office-bearers of the association,
the builder had promised car parking in the basement and children's play area on
the ground floor and recreation and commercial area on the first floor.
The structure of the apartment building is different from the
plan that was submitted to the Corporation's Town Planning section, says the
office-bearer. Finally, the flat owners find that there is no parking area
allotted to them. They have problems in parking cars. And there is no children's
play area too.
The builder has also occupied the rooftop, which should have
been a common area, says the office-bearer. The construction is defective and
the toilets are leaking, he says. The bylaws of the Association are ambiguous.
In places like Bangalore and Mumbai, the bylaws are tighter. But, Kochi is yet
to have a system in place to ensure effective bylaws, he says.
Coordination
The most important aspect is coordination among the members
living in an apartment complex.
Since tenants are a majority in most apartment complexes in
Kochi, they generally do not take interest in the smooth functioning of an
association, says Rangadasa Prabhu, president of the District's Resident
Association's Apex Council. Since there are many legal issues involved in most
of the cases that come to its notice, the council only can act as an advisor and
cannot be involved fully in them. If the members of the association are unable
to function smoothly, a caretaker for the building needs to be appointed.
There should be regular meetings of the associations and
bylaws should be framed at the beginning of the formation of the association so
that members know what are the dos and don'ts in a particular apartment. Says a
resident of a flat at Karikkamuri, "we have managed to tide over the worst
till now and hopefully continue without much problems in future."
Courtesy: Property Plus, The Hindu
http://www.hindu.com/pp/2007/05/12/stories/2007051200490100.htm
